#anyways Everything's Political let's get you some fruit

[clockwayswrites]

Part 2

Part 1

Danny & Cass, Cyan, Wind chime bells @wandixx

Cass placed the backpack down on the kitchen counter, unzipped it, and spread the opening purposefully.

Alfred looked from the bag to Cass, one pointed white brow raised. Keeping her eyes locked with Alfred, she took an apple from the fruit bowl and placed it inside the bag.

A moment later the brow lowered and a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. “Ah, looking for a picnic, Miss Cassandra?”

Pleased he had gotten it, Cass nodded eagerly and held up two fingers.

“A picnic for two? Is one of your siblings joining you?” He asked.

Cass shook her head.

“Ah. Are you off to see a friend?”

Cass nodded and scooted the bag a little closer towards Alfred.

“Well then,” Alfred said after a beat, “any allergies your friend has?”

She took a moment to think about and then shook her head. She’d always seen Danny eat everything that either of them could get their hands on.

“And is your friend human?”

That was an odd question. Cass’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“You would not believe the things that both Master Richard and Master Jason got up to,” Alfred answered, looking like a man who had been long suffering.

Cass gave a little giggle, which softened Alfred’s expression.

“If you will give me a small time, I will put together a meal for you and your friend. Perhaps, while I do so, you would go and let Master Bruce know that you are going out.”

That seemed odd, but Cass figured it was part of being in a family now. They often liked to know where she was or tell each other when they were going somewhere not the manor or would be be back to the manor. It was still taking time for Cass to be used to all of these rules that weren’t rules.

Knocking she understood now, it was apparently polite and sneaking through the shadows was not. To that end, she knocked on the door to Bruce’s study and waited for the slightly distracted ‘come in’ to enter.

“Cass,” Bruce said with a smile when he looked up from his work. “How are you doing today, honey?”

Cass gave him a thumbs up as he turned on the tablet on his desk and spun it around for her. Her tongue stuck out just slightly as she looked for the right images.

🦢🫱🥪🎒 🏠🐦‍⬛➡️🌆

Bruce watched her put in the images. “Ah… Alfred is putting food in a bag for you and you’re going into the city?”

Cass nodded.

“Alright…,” Bruce said slowly. He tapped the edge of the tablet in a soft rhythm. “Thank you for letting me know. First off, do you have your phone with you?”

Cass pulled it out of her back pocket.

“Good. Do you remember what we talked about with the emergency button? How even if you don’t think you need the help, you should press it if there’s any trouble?”

Cass swiped over to the left screen and the large button on it before locking the phone again.

“Alright. Are you willing to wear an alert bracelet too?” Bruce asked and purposeful leaned back into his chair and forced himself to relax. “That way if your phone is taken or breaks you can still press the bracelet. It has a tracker in it, but we won’t use it unless we need to or you tell us too.”

It didn’t really mater to her, she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t trust them, so Cass gave a little shrug and help out her wrist.

Bruce gave an amused snort and opened up one of his drawers. “If you’re any example, daughters really are easier than sons.”

The bracelet, black of course, was a little snug, but it was low profile enough not to get in the way. Cass adjusted it just slightly before she was satisfied. She was confused though when Bruce stood.

He gave her a soft smile. “I’ll drive you into the city. I have some paperwork there I should get anyways.”

That was a little bit of a lie, but Cass decided not to call him on it and simple held out her hand for Bruce to take.

-

“You aren’t supposed to come out here anymore,” Danny said. He’s trying to look mad— arms crossed with a wide stance, but the way he looked at her from under his black bangs gave him away.

Cass patted the spot on the roof next to her. It’s one of their favorite spots to watch the sunset together. Not only was the view of the sunset over the waters amazing, but when there was a breeze they could hear all the bits of metal tied to the bridge next to them clink in the wind. It made Cass sad to think of Danny watching it up here alone now.

He gave an aggrieved sigh but took the indicated spot. Once he’s seated, Cass starts pulling out the food. There are bulging sandwiches, fresh fruit, salty chips, and best of all cookies.

“Wow,” Danny said. His hand twitched like he wanted to just reach out and start eating before the food disappeared.

Cass handed him a sandwich.

“You still shouldn’t be out here,” Danny protested, but the words were muffled by the large bite of food.

Cass just smiled and started on her own.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh yeah addendum in also the other day seeing someone autistic talking in that context abt what they want from genuine relationships in that they said they don't want to be Admired Or Desired. that one time someone was like, you're one of the best people i know, like well neat compliment sure i'll take it lmao, but also, that's somewhat confusing and even disheartening when it's like, i have no way of knowing this; we don't really interact? or times i have to ""unilaterally"" assess that i don't feel Friends with someone b/c i don't feel like, for one thing, i can just up & message them even lol; the feeling that to whatever capacity there's a relationship, it's been continual "don't mess this up" masking / efforts to "do things Right" from me....whilest also times it's been like, oh someone's apparently choosing to be around me? enjoying interactions? while still kind of confused about it. and then it's like oh it was Romantic Interest apparently lol :( like even if i wasn't aromantic which i so am....where was the [there is anything to feel is genuine] like again we never even got to any part where i wasn't masking and [do things Right] and on edge and certainly not at whatever point i apparently had whatever appeal. much less "when cishet men are just sprinting straight at you" but that's all the more, like, [you as a Person are certainly irrelevant] but not like it doesn't still feel ultimately mostly irrelevant even if people have more discretion / a more considerate approach in general. also that again there would not be a Right way lmfao. it just sure could be a totally neutral expereince rather, please. how i've had too many situations having to try to fling myself out a window figuratively, even w/those theoretically more considerate approaches

or even when people will be talking about what makes someone Deserving outside of the most conservative(tm) approaches like. this person isn't someone who just waits for things to happen :) like well hell yeah for them lol, meanwhile, i sure kinda am. being aware that in any given way i may not impress anyone / may be negatively assessed; only turns into "there go my power levels increasing again. shrugmoji" when correspondingly it's like, and i don't have to care, or certainly then blame myself about it if like oh boy, society when you have to be "objectively" judged as Worthy by randos, whatever their perspectives lol....or when like, the concept of social support is like, get a romantic partner, primarily, an ounce of backup from friends, the Real backup being family, or friends "as good as" family....or the ongoing journey of realizing like; it was never Just gonna be managing to leave [abusive childhood/family house]. the ways that other experiences outside that were Consistent, really, when being around peers means an immediate sense of doing something wrong / not being as good as them; authority figure adults sometimes acting just like an abusive parent does; no ways to regularly exist flexibly and/or less supervised/monitored, e.g. couldn't walk from [home] to [anywhere]....catching on like, ah, outside of That Situation? i'm still not inherently more valued by randos, still not Not liable to be regarded/treated with disdain / expressions of authoritarianism....Aren't We All; for real. but truly like oh hey, i didn't even realize i was getting all this Political experience in that [when you have a one on one personal abuser and You're Responsible For How They Treat You and Their Own Power Is The Whole Thing and You'll Never "Earn" Better But It'll Always Be Your Fault You Haven't] and all those kinds of logics and realities it's like of course this resonates crystal clear with logics and realities re: [political enemies] lmao. ofc they can be as "hypocritical" as they want b/c [you can just say whatever while you do w/e you want and other people have to deal] is an expression of power. of course "for [xyz]'s own good; individually or as a group" is really about ensuring the power to control their existences as property by shrinking the space in which someone can enact autonomous choices: anything For Children is about (conservative) parents controlling children as things they own and can do whatever they want with; like making sure kids Can't be gay or sm shit, it Is about children, just keeping them from being able to exist outside the sphere of control of an isolated Family life. hell yeah when they do anyways / tragically it always turns out people are actually people despite your wanting to disbelieve this / always have the power to ignore it..........but then yknow, the truth is we out here, and ofc it's like [police protect Property; enforce these property/owner relations] but what's Normal yet obviously harmful is also so borne by regular ordinary """harmless""" interpersonal interactions / people who feel supposedly well-intended but that's more superficial than in essence....even merely the Exhaustion in knowing interactions as Just chitchat w/supposedly amicable parties is like, a scrutinizing test that can only go wrong and lead to antagonism / animosity that can easily accumulate &/or compound. much less existence In Public and shit going wrong out of nowhere, and potential stakes....being like Lol at, again, years back thinking like "a horror short should be like, the premise that you might just be at a grocery or some ordinary asf situation but at any given moment, doing Nothing extraordinary, some rando suddenly goes Deeply Hostile Mode for a second. where even then suddenly disengaging from that mode is not a relief in that the [this could happen at any time] is emphasized" like lmfao that's [being in an abusive situation], that's [being autistic], isn't it so Zany that there's so much overlap / resonance.

Not At All being Lol abt how much actual discrete examples of produced horror is just like "what if there was disabled people." this is its own line b/c of the characters per block limit. but also disdainful emphasis

anyways lol wuh oh in conclusion, antifascism....isn't it always

[amomentsescape]

Hey, do you have any slasher X reader where the reader loves baking?

Slashers with Reader That Loves Baking

Slashers x Reader (Separate)

Includes: Freddy, Michael, Jason, Thomas, Bubba, Brahms, Norman, Billy, & Stu

A/N: Hmm... I don't think I do. Looks like I need to whip up another fic. Here you go!

Freddy Krueger

Although Freddy doesn't need to eat, he'll try anything you make him!

He's happy that you have a hobby that you enjoy during the day

He's even happier that he gets to taste the results

Whenever you visit him, he makes sure the dream world has a kitchen for you in case you want to make something while you're there

You're more inclined to bake there anyways because Freddy can get you just about any ingredient your heart desires

When you do make items, Freddy switches into his "Kiss the Cook" apron and matching hat

He may not help you with the baking, but he still expects kisses while you work

He'll stand beside you, just observing everything you do

He doesn't ask too many questions either, he just likes seeing you relaxed

Once the treats are ready, he literally stabs a few onto his knifed glove and eats them off of it

There hasn't been a single thing you've made that he hasn't enjoyed

Michael Myers

Michael is pretty neutral with your enjoyment of baking

He tends to his hobbies, you tend to yours

He doesn't feel like there needs to be any crossover of sorts

However, he won't deny you when you ask him to try things

And if you need help accessing the top shelf, he'll help you out

He secretly has a big sweet tooth, and your warm smile influences him to try everything (he'd be dead before he admitted it though)

He has a pretty basic taste in sweets too

He enjoys the majority of the cookies, cakes, and breads you've made

He isn't a big fan of pie or dried fruits though

If you make a batch of anything, he'll try a bite if you ask, but that'll be it

You're always certain he's just trying to be polite

But whenever you wake up in the morning, half the tray is gone

Michael will just shrug it off of course

But it's pretty obvious he enjoys your treats

Jason Voorhees

He absolutely loves that you bake!

To be fair, he'd love literally anything you do that makes you happy, but baking reminds him a lot of his missed childhood

You've made a couple things already that reminded him of stuff his mother used to make, and it almost brought him to tears

He doesn't really get sweet cravings like he did when he was younger, but he will never say no to trying something of yours

He also enjoys decorating some of the treats too

His large hands tend to fumble a bit, and nothing comes out as good as yours, but he's having fun, and that's what matters most to you both

His favorite thing is coming home after a long day to the smell of baked goods and to see you casually mixing ingredients together

You just seem so content, and it gives him a taste of what domestic life is like with you

He'll always come over to greet you with a hug, not caring if you're covered in flour

And once he's gotten cleaned up, he just sits at the table out of the way, watching you

He especially loves when you talk to him while baking

It just makes him all warm inside

Thomas Hewitt

He never really grew up with home baked goods like yours before, so it feels like literal heaven when he smells the sugar in the air

He likes walking up and peering over your shoulder, trying to see what you're doing

He also just likes hanging out with you in case you need help with anything

If your arms ever get tired from mixing or kneading, you know who to ask

If you let him, he'll take little tastes of the batters, predicting how much he's going to like them once they're done

(It's always a 10/10)

If it's sweet, he likes it

There's never been anything you've made that he didn't eat almost all of in one night

He loves if you make enough for the whole family too!

He's a bit hesitant to help decorate, and even more so to help add ingredients

But if you ask, there's no way he'd be willing to say no

Bubba Sawyer

He adores your baking!

He absolutely has no idea what you're doing half the time, but he's happy about it all the same

You've got to be careful with this one though

Because if you even turn around for a second, the batter is gone

Same goes for when the treats are cooling

If you leave the kitchen, they'll be gone within just a couple minutes

You have no idea how he manages to do it

At least he's showing you just how much he loves your bakery?

But besides that, he's a great hand to have in the kitchen

He can mix and mix for days

And he's always there to help hand you whatever you need

Just don't trust him with the powders unless you want a white, dusty kitchen

He's also not the best around the hot oven, having burnt himself a handful of times

It's kind of like having a helpful but clumsy child in the kitchen with you

But he's so sweet you can't bare to tell him to leave

Brahms Heelshire

Brahms never grew up with many sweets in the house

So having his own baker at home is like feeding a starving man

And with Brahms, you can imagine how that goes

Will come to you almost every day with a new treat he is craving

In fact, he even added to the rules list that you needed to make him a bedtime treat or else he refuses to go to sleep

You love baking of course, so it's not a problem, but some of his requests are absurd

A pie covered in chocolate ice cream smooshed with cookies and drizzled with brownie batter might be a bit much for a midnight snack

But you honestly did it to yourself

The moment he tasted your treats, there was no going back

And be careful when the sugar rush hits

He's ready to bounce off the walls with you in tow

Norman Bates

Norman has always been one for domestic hobbies

So the fact that you're a baker makes him feel so cozy and warm

Waking up to fresh muffins with his tea, coming home to a plate of brownies, and even being woken up in the middle of the night to some wild cookie recipe all makes Norman so happy

Jokingly complains that you're fattening him up

He's honestly a pretty good baker himself, although he argues that his skill is nowhere near as good as yours

But there have been a handful of times he prepare his own treat beside you in the kitchen, and it always came out amazing

And because of his experience, he's happy to give a lending hand when you need

If you're making something you know by heart instead, then he's still there beside you, keeping up with the dishes so you don't have to tend to a mess later

Norman enjoys whatever makes you happy, and is eager to learn even more about what you love too!

Billy Loomis

He's pretty chill about it at first

He thinks it's a cute hobby, but doesn't know much about it himself

However, the first time he was actually there with you watching you work and tasting what you made...

He really gained a better perspective on it

He can see the hard work and true enjoyment you put into the hobby, and this makes him appreciate it more

He's not huge on sweets, but seeing you put all of this together for him makes it impossible to deny them

Will be brutally honest if he likes something or not, but there's truly only been a couple times he actually didn't like what you made

Will occasionally sit on the counter beside you and just ask basic questions

"What does this thing do?" "How long does it need to sit there?" "Is there a difference between folding and mixing?"

You always smile at him since his genuine curiosity is cute

Plus, it shows he's trying to learn more about what you do

Will definitely stand behind you and rest his head on your shoulder while you work

Stu Macher

You love to bake? Well, Stu loves to eat

Match made in heaven in his eyes

He honestly is surprised by the amount of effort that it takes to whip up a simple cookie or cupcake

He's not usually on this end of the food process

But he honestly enjoys watching what you do

Will literally just stare and zone out, making you laugh

Loves loves loves when it's time to lick the spoon

He will dab batter onto your nose though

He's a huge fan of helping you decorate too!

Just be careful, because Stu is also a huge fan of squeezing the piping bag directly into his mouth

But surprisingly, Stu has become pretty decent at piping frosting and making your treats look pretty

He always insists on eating the ones you decorate though because they "taste better"

He honestly just loves being able to show praise for the stuff you make him and will always request a fun treat to accompany your weekly movie nights

[pagesfromthevoid]

Cowboy Like Me | d.d. | 2

Din Djarin x princess!reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: mild cursing, mentions of being killed

Author’s Note: Ah yes the second chapter literally no one asked for (that’s not true, technically two people did regardless). They’re gonna get longer soon…just you wait. And mildly smuttier 👀

Series Masterlist | Talk to Me!

The Hunter

The following morning, she bought a one way pass to Alderaan.

There wasn’t really a reason to stay on Nevarro anyway, since she was merely there in passing. But it frustrated her to no end that her mother was so willing to hire a bounty hunter within days. Leave it to Calista of Senex to just know her daughter wasn’t taken against her will —to simply know she left on her own accord.

Perhaps her mother should have taken that as a sign that her daughter wouldn’t have wanted to go through with the wedding. A sign that this whole thing was a bad idea. But then, Callista was not someone who thought of others' wants and needs. Not unless they better served her.

The carrier to Alderaan didn’t leave for several hours, however, and she was stuck in Nevarro —stuck with a Mandalorian —until then. As long as she laid low, and didn’t get herself In trouble, she would be fine. And she hadn’t found any trouble in the time that she had been away from Senex —how hard could it be?

*****

As it turns out, the answer was very hard.

It was very hard to stay out of trouble.

It was as if every time she turned a corner, there he was, searching the crowd for her. And every time, she turned on her heel to walk the other way. Maybe he knew she was there. Maybe this was part of his thing —playing cat and mouse with his quarry before he just snatched her up.

She wasn’t going to be caught by him. She wasn’t going back. He’d have to kill her before she let him truck her back to Senex, back down that aisle. Maker help her, her mother would have to hire him to stand guard at the wedding so she didn’t run again. Because she wasn’t going back.

Slipping down an alleyway, she ducked behind a vendor stall and pretended to peruse the fruits available. She didn’t have much longer before her carrier was set to leave, all she needed to do was get around him and to the station. Then she’d have a bit of a head start on him.

“Hey! You gotta pay for that!”

She dropped the fruit in her hand, confused because she wasn’t stealing. She was just looking! But when she looked up, he wasn’t even looking at her. He was looking at the floor of the stall. Unable to help herself, she stepped closer and followed the vendor’s gaze.

Babbling, holding the fruit to its little mouth, was the most unusual —but possibly the cutest —child she had ever seen. It didn’t seem overly concerned about being scolded by the vendor, though as he reached down to snatch the fruit, she quickly stepped between the two.

“Here,” she offered, holding out some credits with a polite smile. “Let me pay for his snack.”

The vendor gave her a wary look, but didn’t care enough to argue as he snatched the money from her and walked off. She turned to look down at the child now, then kneeled down in front of him.

“Stealing is wrong, you know,” she softly scolded, but she had a smile on her face. “You’re lucky I was here. Now where are your parents?”

The child finished his fruit, cooing excitedly as he reached his hands up. She looked around a moment, seeing if there was anyone else nearby. No frantic mothers or fathers seemingly were searching for the child, and she couldn’t very well leave him there. It just went against everything in her, to leave a child alone like this. So, probably against her better judgment, she took the little one in her arms and lifted him up and rested him on her hip.

“You seem like a trouble maker, little one,” she commented, earning a happy little babble in response.

As she stepped out of the stall and looked around the crowds, the vendor pushed her out of the doorway and slammed it behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and huffed in frustration, shaking her head. When she turned back around, she caught the eye —or well, visor —of the man hunting her down.

“Shit.”

*****

Mando had stopped looking for the girl about an hour after getting off the ship. He didn’t exactly intend to stop —however, the kid decided that he wanted to be a problem and when Mando turned around, Grogu was not in his crib. And now Mando was searching Nervarro for his kid, not his quarry.

Honestly, if he focused hard enough, he could probably find both her and the kid without any issues. But Grogu was still a target for Gideon, and he couldn’t focus on anything besides finding his son. He had to. The quarry could wait —he had a month. His kid didn’t.

But after an hour and half, he was getting antsy. The kid wasn’t anywhere to be found, and he had been searching every inch of the market with no luck. That little monster had made him question everything he was good at in such a short amount of time, if only by being nothing but trouble. It would be the death of him.

Mando pushed out of another stall, stopping for a moment to scan the crowd once more. As the people slowly started to thin out, move out of the way, he caught a glimpse of green across the market —high off the ground. For a second, Mando almost panicked but the child was giggling happily, and the woman holding him was speaking to him as Grogu turned back to the crowd; to Mando. And she followed the gaze, only to tense up immediately.

She stared directly at him, eyes wide as Grogu reached up to touch her face. But her lips moved —and while Mando wasn’t great at reading lips, he knew when someone was cursing. And she was cursing, frozen in place as they locked eyes. The kid turned to follow her gaze, now reaching out to him with those grabby little hands he always did when Mando was too far away.

Her brow furrowed as she looked down at the child, who was pushing himself from her arms and finding himself on the ground again.

“Wait, no, no,” she called after him, reaching out. And whatever fear that had made her freeze in front of Mando was gone as she chased after his child. “You can’t run off by yourself! You almost got flogged for stealing!”

Mando stalked forward now, eyes on her and her only as she scooped up the kid in her arms again. Grogu whined, reaching out to him as she slowly came to a stop in front of the bounty hunter. His helmet tilted down, just slightly, looking down at the child as Grogu reached out to him.

“I…,” but she trailed off, slowly letting the child transfer from her arms to Mando’s. “I paid for his snack.”

Through his visor, he glanced up at her, finally noting the color of her eyes. They were warm, tear rimmed as she knew she had been caught. The sight tugged at his heartstrings, but he knew better. This was a job; she was a quarry. Didn’t matter how upset she was; how close to tears she may be. But he couldn’t look away from her.

“He was stealing from the vendor. I…I didn’t want him to get in trouble,” she explained further, keeping her eyes on the child in his arms. “I assume he’s trouble.”

“He is.”

Finally, her eyes snapped up to look into his helmet. Most people settled on his forehead, or even his chin. But she caught his eye without even trying, just staring up at him with tears in her eyes.

“How much are they paying you to bring me home?”

“More than you have.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Thirty-five.”

She let out a huff, shaking her head. “I have twenty.”

Mando almost took it. He almost took what she had, let her go. He didn’t know why they wanted her back. It wasn’t in his job to ask questions like that. But the way she stared up at him —eyes watery with unshed tears, trembling as she reached up to run her thumb over the baby’s cheek. It pulled at something even deeper in him that he didn’t like.

“Would twenty be enough to just…kill me, instead?”

He thanked the stars for his helmet, because her request threw him off entirely. He’d never had a quarry ask to be killed. The kid in his arms whined again but Mando squeezed him gently to quiet him down.

“No. You’re to be returned alive.”

She nodded solemnly, as if she had accepted her fate. “I can’t outrun you, can I?”

“You can try. But it won’t last very long.”

She considered his answer before nodding once.

“If I go willingly, are you going to put me in carbonite?”

He hesitated a moment, though to her it was just him staring at her in silence. For a second, he considered his options. Maybe he wouldn’t give up his bounty, but she seemed aware enough of the consequences if she fought back.

“No. I won’t.”

His tone was stern; threatening without actually saying it. He could give her a little more breathing room before being returned to Senex and whatever waited there. But for the trip there, he would be nice.

Just this once.

Because she was nice to the kid.

———

Taglist: OPEN

[alannybunnue]

Ok, Imagine: Daemon and Rhaenyra having a bastard child in Yan!HOTD AU

I always like to start these posts blaming someone for my crazy ideas, but today is not @missglaskin 's fault, it's you @rosaryos, you did this to me...keep going.

T.W: The entire plot of HOTD with spoilers and maybe some other things, like, seriously, it's the Targaryens.

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Prologue:

So we all know what happened in episode 4, Rhaenyra and Daemon almost committed Society crimes(You know what i mean) and did it on that brothel, but then Daemon back away and left like a b*tch. But what if he didn't?

And once they were done, Rhaenyra being a young horny soul still went for that Cole stick. Just to keep things as they were in the plot.

And then all the drama happen, including Rhaenyra and Laenor's marriage, but we all know they never consummated because of fruit preferences-

And then 9 months later, Rhaenyra gives birth to a baby girl with silver hair and violet eyes that shine. Of course, she knows it's not Laenor's, much less Criston's...it had be Daemon's.

But she let it aside to avoid drama, specially after the birth of the boys.

No one questioned your legitimacy, since there's no proof of Rhaenyra being with Daemon and you had all the Targaryen features...even if your grandfather likes to say that you have Laenor's nose.

You are the realms delight (taking your mother's title) and the heir to the Iron Throne after your mother. Everyone adores you and it's already considered a crime to make you sad, not gonna lie, you use that to your own advantage.

Your mother and "father" both are proud of you, you are the role model for every girl in the realm, the kind and polite princess...when they are looking, in reality, you could incinerate the Red Keep if you wanted.

Viserys is the funny proud grandfather, he liked to watch you playing around as you grow, it kinda reminded him of Rhaenyra when she was your age. But you way more gracious.

Jacaerys is the brother who is always willing to protect from everyone and everything, even a frickin spider, puts you on a pedestal and will fight anyone who dares to take you away. Now Lucerys is the type to gain your affection by pretending to be hurt, since he's the youngest of the bunch. They both are pretty possessive, like your mother.

Even if you don't look nothing alike, you never brought this up, like it never bothered you. Even if Alicent brought it up a few times behind your mother's back.

Speaking of Alicent, she and her kids adore you. Alicent takes on a motherly role with you, while Helaena, who is the closest girl to your age, is more of a sister, who you like to hear rambling about her insects and still tries to understand some of the things she says. Now Aegon has always being a creep, and his special likeness on you doesn't change that, but he doesn't too far by his mother's warning(She knows her son and his tendencies), as for Aemond...do you know those childhood crushes that you idolize and all? That's him (Don't worry, it's gonna get worse).

As the boys all are pretty competitive, specially when you watch them spar along side your grandfather. They look forward to you admiring them and saying how well they went.

But in reality, you wanted to be there with them. You always wanted to learn how to fight too. But the adults were completely against this, scared that you would get hurt, but isn't that the point on learning?

Either way, you suppress this by watching the boys spar instead (with Aegon being a fckin show off)

Sir Harwin is also very protective of you, not just because he is fcking protective of your mother as well, but he views you as his own daughter, like the boys.

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Episode 6:

You were with your brothers and Sir Harwin when Laenor and Rhaenyra arrive with baby Joffrey, while he seemed a bit agitated, just until you got closer to see him, then he immediately stopped and remained calm. You looked at him more clearly, he was just like Jace and Luke, so you knew that he wasn't Laenor (None of you are anyway-) so you feared on how people were going to discuss more about the legitimacy of your brothers and judge your mother, you can't handle the drama.

Then Luke and Jace are sended to the Dragon Pit, you don't go after them, for you don't have a dragon of your own, since the egg never hatched. Which made you jealous of your siblings.

But there was someone who could understand your frustrations, Aemond, who also doesn't have a dragon, but different from you, he's constantly picked on by his and your brothers(But they would never make fun of you though, that would be a sin at this point-).

Before he was brought to his mother, Aemond went to you for confort after the boys gave him a pig, and boy YOU WERE ANGRY, sure, they did many things before, but you developed a strong bond with Aemond at this point and this more than insulting.

You knew it was Jace's idea, you made sure he realized how he messed up. And he did apologized(To you, not Aemond-) But he knows you wouldn't forget what he did so soon, and you might not speak to him for the rest of the day, the same for Luke.

You didn't even look at Aegon, and that made the boy confused as hell, until he realized that you weren't talking to your brothers as well.

Again, you were watching the boys spar with your grandfather, as he commented on how this could created a bond between them, and as much as you admired his perspective, you weren't clueless enough to believe that would happen.

You also were aware of Sir Criston's favoritism towards Aegon and Aemond, dedicating himself to teach the two better then with your brothers. But you never understood why.

And things just got worse when Sir Harwin punched Sir Criston. all because of the stupid comment he made, you watched as the guards dragged Harwin away from your brother's instructor.

You worried for your mother right away.

At the small council, Rhaenyra tries to calm the conflict between her and Alicent by betroth Jace to Helaena, but her offer was striked back by Alicent, who instead offered to marry you to Aegon.

There was 15 seconds of silent before both left the room, Rhaenyra out of disgust and Alicent out of shame. Both knew of Aegon's tendencies, Alicent more than Rhaenyra. So only the Gods would know what he could do to you if you were to marry. Even Viserys pointed that it wasn't a wise offer from Alicent later on.

Soon, Harwin had to leave to Harrenhal, he came to say goodbye to you and your family. You were sad to know this, Harwin was a good man and a good paternal figure to the boys. He bid his goodbye to you all and left right away.

That encouraged Rhaenyra to leave King's Landing to Dragon Stone immediately. Before you went away, however, you met up with Aemond and Helaena to say goodbye, only getting to exchange looks with Aegon as you crossed paths. You did noticed his disappointment and mad look.

Now in Dragon Stone, things might be less chaotic, of course, that's until you received the news. Harwin Strong died in a fire on Harrenhal and Laena Velaryon, your father's sister, died after a failing on giving birth.

Gods be good.

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Episode 7:

It was a bright day, but sad and filled with grief, as Laena's funeral started. You never knew her personally, nor did you knew her family. You only heard about them from your parents, as you watched the coffin being thrown into the water, you noticed the looks of others at you. But only one intrigued you, Daemon Targaryen, your grandfather's brother and Laena's husband.

Daemon was conflicted, not just because of what happened, but at this new discovery of his, as he watched you approach him to give your condolences, he noticed your features. You were not too far from Rhaenyra's oldest son in age, but you looked nothing like him. And Daemon never heard of of Rhaenyra having a daughter.

You spend the rest of the day trying to confort Laena's daughters, Baela and Rhaena. You could understand a bit of how they felt, as you viewed Harwin as family, but you couldn't attend his funeral, as your mother pointed that it wouldn't be proper.

You also tried to talk to the others, your grandfather, Alicent (And you did noticed clubfoot looking at her, but didn't questioned), Aegon and Aemond(which you discovered of Aegon's engagement to Helaena, poor girl)

At their conversation, Daemon asked about you, demanding to know whether you were his and why Rhaenyra never told him. Your mother simply said that due to him abandoning her for Laena, she didn't bother him with this information. The argument continued until one thing let another and everyone knows how this ended (Two horni mfs)

You couldn't help but feel betrayed, he was the only one who understood you and now, he goes and steals a dragon that wasn't his to claim to just rub it on your face?

At night, you were awakened by Baela, who told that someone stoled Vaghar, Laena's dragon. You immediately went after them to find Aemond, declaring that he claimed the old dragon.

Soon there was a fight, and you did your best to stop it before it got messy. But the boys shoved you on the ground and keep fighting. Right after, you heard Aemond calling your brothers "bastards" and you saw Luke cutting his face.

You were all taken away by the guards. And as the maester took care of Aemond's face, you hugged your brothers. Unlike them, you luckily just had a few scratches.

Soon the adults arrived, your mother went straight to check on you, Jace and Luke. As the maester announced the Aemond lost his eye forever, you felt a bit guilty, but you couldn't deny that he was at fault.

Alicent demanded justice, and Viserys denied it, the whole argument was a pain to be heard, you only focused on your brothers, as Daemon and Rhaenyra guarded you three. And then Alicent tried to attack Lucerys, you blocked him while your mother held the Queen, which resulted in her being cut.

You stayed at your mother's side as the maester treated her wound and your brother's. Laenor finally showed up and regretful, apologized deeply for leaving you all when you needed him.

...and then he died.

The news striked you hard, he was your father...at least he raised you, you lost a lot in less then a week. But you kept your composure, for your mother decided to marry Daemon right after, and you were a witness together with your siblings.

After that, Rhaenyra sat you down and told you the truth, about Daemon being your true father and you were technically a bastard, not anymore, since they got married.

Now your life was turning upside down and it was just the beginning

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A/N: Thanks for reading, i wrote this out of distraction, for i will be posting less now due to my studies, but i am not going anywhere.

[differenteagletragedy]

Cove isn't the stepdad, he's the dad who stepped up: Part 5

A fifth part to my series in which Baxter does his Baxter thing at the end of Step 3, but he got you pregnant before he left. Cove steps up to raise your baby, but then when you get married, a certain Mr. Ward ends up being your wedding planner.

Link to Part 4 here, with links to the previous parts.

The summer after you'd graduated high school, you and Cove worked together at the tropical place, waiting tables. It was a special place for the two of you, full of memories, and it was a natural choice for your rehearsal dinner.

But it was also a special place for you and Baxter. Once he'd learned you worked there, he stopped by regularly, sometimes to order takeout and other times just to see you. It was sweet, and his visits made you fall all that much harder for him.

So that night, when you were sitting in the restaurant, less than 24 hours before your wedding to Cove with your son in a booster seat between the two of you and Baxter, his biological father, sitting across the table from him, letting him snatch a fistful of pineapple from his plate ...

Well, it was odd.

Dylan had been the one to invite Baxter, and after making sure it was ok with you, he'd agreed to stop by. But when he did stop by -- just stepping in to wish you and Cove well, not intending to stay long -- your son had been insistent that he sit and join you for dinner. It seemed he'd taken a liking to this strange man who looked like him, and Cove, always willing to do anything to make his little boy happy, told Baxter to pull up a chair.

"You can sit right here," Dylan had told him, pointing directly across the table. "You can't sit beside me because I sit beside Mommy and Daddy, but if you sit here then you can still see me good."

Baxter smiled tenderly at him -- that's the only way you could describe it, "tenderly" -- and despite how different he and Cove were, it seemed like wanting to please your child was something they had in common.

Derek, always the gentleman, went to grab an extra chair and put it beside his, scooting over to make room for him. Baxter flashed another smile at him, and you realized tonight you'd seen that smile more than you had in five years. He threw an extra one to Kyra, who was on this other side, and sat. Then he met your eyes.

You knew Baxter. You just did. And now, with everything that had come up, you felt like you'd always know him. He was nervous, desperately seeking your approval. He wanted to know that it was ok to be this close, to accept all this kindness. That it wouldn't bother you.

You grabbed an extra menu and slid it in front of him.

"You'll have to get someone else to take your order this time," you smirked.

After everyone placed their orders and the wait for food began, Baxter began talking to Kyra -- Dylan really couldn't have picked a better seat for him. Derek spoke with him too, finally getting to know him a little after being so absent the first time he was in town. Cove even sent some friendly chatter his way. He never really liked Baxter, he never really understood him, but he was making an effort to make this whole strange process go more smoothly.

It wasn't long after dinner was served that Dylan made his grab for Baxter's food. He was a polite kid, as polite as a four-year-old could be, anyway, but he also liked to eat, and Baxter's dish was the only one near him with pineapples on it. The temptation was too much to bear.

Before you could catch him, he'd stuck his little fingers in Baxter's plate.

"Dylan!" you said quickly, grabbing his wrist and pulling it back. "You know we don't do that."

"It's quite all right, truly," Baxter said, smiling so wide that his teeth showed. "I don't mind."

Dylan grinned up at you, nibbling on the stolen fruit and you sighed. But it turned out that wasn't the boldest move he was prepared to pull that night.

"How do you know my mommy and daddy?" he asked easily.

Derek choked on the sip of water he'd been taking, and beside you, Liz turned a cackle into a not-so-convincing cough. Dylan kept his eyes straight ahead, but you could feel both Cove and Baxter's on you.

"We all knew each other a long time ago," you answered, tousling his hair. "Back before you were born."

"Did he know me when I was a baby?" he asked, turning to look up at you.

"No."

"Did he know me when I was in your belly?"

The question hit you harder than you would've thought. You sucked in a breath, bit your lip then said, "No, baby."

Cove and Baxter were still looking at you, but their expressions were very different. Where Cove looked concerned, Baxter had that old sorry look of remorse. It was too much.

"Be right back," you said quickly before standing up and making your exit.

You walked out of the restaurant, breathing in the fresh air, and tears started falling. You tried to catch them before they escaped your eyes, not wanting to leave any evidence when you went back inside, but pretty soon you realized it was a losing battle. You went to the corner of the restaurant and sat on a bench there and just gave in to it all.

"Hey, gal."

You looked up, and there was Derek, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Can I sit down?"

You made more room on the bench and he sat down beside you. His presence, as always, was a comfort in itself, and you felt yourself relaxing, just a little.

"You ok?" he asked softly.

The tears came down harder as you told him that no, you were not ok. This was a shitty situation and it wasn't fair, not to you or to Cove or to Dylan. The timing of Baxter coming back into your life could not possibly have been worse, and you were so angry and so sad that you were spending the night before your wedding to Cove wasting tears over some dumb boy who broke your heart.

He listened as you let everything out, and when he was sure you were done, he held out the arm closest to you. You let yourself fall against him, and he wrapped his strong arms around you.

"I'm sure this is really hard, and I'm so sorry," he said, resting his chin on the top of your head. "I wish it wasn't like this. But I know you, and I know Cove, and this is going to be ok."

"It doesn't feel like it."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that too. But it's true. Cove loves you so much, and I know you love him the same. And I know how much you both love Dylan. You're a family. Nothing Baxter can do will change that. And nothing at all is going to mess up your wedding."

"That's a pretty bold claim," you told him.

"I'm a pretty bold guy."

You felt yourself smiling, but there was still some sadness there. Derek's warmth made you feel better, and you knew that he was right about Cove, but you felt like there would always be a sort of sadness associated with Baxter. It wasn't something you could escape.

A few minutes later, Derek asked if you wanted to go back inside. He helped you clean your face up a little from your impromptu crying session, then you made your way back to your table.

The first thing you saw was Dylan crying, his little fists wiping at his eyes. Cove had his hand on his back and was leaned in, talking to him.

"What happened?" you asked, rushing back to take your seat beside him.

"Baxter left," he explained.

The subtext was clear: Baxter left again.

[thousand-winters]

What do you think of Hunters eating habits? Do you think he struggles to eat, struggles to keep on weight etc etc

I doubt he was eating all that well in the coven, but he also lives with Darius Deamonne who just wouldn’t let it slide

The way I struggled to find this, I need a better tag system for my blog, but anyway! I actually shared some thoughts here but let's go with some extra thoughts anyway.

It's definitely going to be a challenge for him to break his bad eating habits and actually have three meals a day and such. Because Darius wouldn't want to force him to eat either if he's not up to it, I can imagine at the beginning there was a lot of "well, at least have a snack" which he picked up for later and then that "later" coincidentially never came.

It would have been easier for him to eat normally and healthily at the Human Realm because it wouldn't feel like it's just him doing something he hasn't earned, his friends were unknowingly leading him with their example. It's easier to do something when everybody else is doing it and acting like it's totally normal to have multiple meals a day even when your make-shift portal exploded on your face for the third time this week. He might not fully understand but it's not him committing a wrongdoing all on his own and overtime he probably relaxed with how nonchalant they were about it too.

I think he was generally very polite with Camila, and very grateful, and he felt comfortable there to a certain level, while all of them knew it wasn temporary, plus Camila only had so much time in her day between work and six whole kids, so he didn't have to talk too much with her if he felt anxious. If he ever felt tense, he could just follow his friends' lead and keep going, even if he was doing something as innocent as grabbing fruit from the kitchen while Camila was around. Not so daunting when you have company and you don't have to spend a lot of time with this figure of authority anyway, even if they're nice.

Now, when he moves in with Darius, it's different. Darius doesn't have six kids he suddenly has to care for while simultaneously worrying about coupons and where to get the money for all of them to be able to live in decent conditions, and this isn't a temporary arrangement either, so Hunter would worry more about making a good impression because if this is to be permanent, he has to be a good kid, exactly how it worked at the castle. He spends more time with Darius than he ever did with Camila, and while they already have the precedent of their time at the castle, Darius is now his guardian, so it's different.

Darius would probably tell him straight away he doesn't have to earn anything at his house, and everything there is at his disposition because it's his house now too, but Hunter would probably feel too awkward at first to even open the fridge if he hasn't been specifically asked to retrieve something or told that he could. So between that and his tendency to tell Darius he's not hungry during this or that meal, very early on he would be kinda going back to his habits at the coven.

But yeah, Darius absolutely isn't going to let it slide, even one or two weeks is too much because Hunter needs to eat, he's a growing teenager. Part of it would be definitely Hunter feeling like he doesn't deserve the food, but even without that, once it gets actually into his head that he doesn't need to earn it, he might struggle to actually keep enough appetite for the three meals at first.

I think it's also possible at the Human Realm he could get away with it a lot because Luz and him were probably the club "I don't feel hungry" and then the others looked at them and they looked so worn down that it was evidently not a physical issue, so they just let them because no point in forcing them when they aren't feeling well. It's absolutely the same with Darius and Eber, except there's no urgency nor lack of ability to take Hunter to a healer and see if part of it is his body not being used to have frequent meals like that.

He probably has to start slowly, perhaps with light meals at first, and Darius would help him work through it both with making sure he has the meals he needs so he can eat properly and with encouraging him and supporting him so he stops feeling guilty about "wasting his time and resources".

He gets there eventually, and if he ever doesn't feel like taking a meal, Darius still takes the time to make him a snack. He doesn't pressure him to eat it, but he does encourage him to not feel like he doesn't deserve it. It takes time, but Darius has plenty of it and a lot of patient for this kid that has been hurt in far too many ways.

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Just a quick ask-

If the Red Force in the JT AU ever decides to lay low on Dawn Island (while looking for the Gomu fruit) with Luffy tagging along because, of course, he is lol, how does the whole mountain bandit debacle go down? Number one, Shanks is well-known at this point; years go by, and all, but still, his face was plastered into every single person's face at least once for the last six years. He's probably almost Emperor level at this point, and the pirate/marine world still says his name with awe, sympathy, and fear.

So, are they undercover? Shanks and crew dress down, hide the red hair and straw hat, row to shore just far enough out so the inhabitants can't see his ship properly? Also, I don't know if this version of Shanks would just shrug his shoulders and take the bandits' taunts. I mean, he could; it could be a "I've eaten scarier things for lunch, and this is barely a fly of an inconvenience." Or maybe it's because they're undercover he can't do anything? That would absolutely grind his patients and when he can finally just stab the guy na break his face in it’s gonna be so cathartic. Is this why he won’t loose his arm this way here but later? Because he just beats the bandit into an inch of his life before he can capture Luffy?

Also is Mihawk here? Just hanging around or is he off doing secret war lord stuff.

Also, is this how Garp finds out about Luffy? Or I’m completely off base with all of this but hypothetically if this all happened what the out come?

Anyways, this AU has brought me so much joy through such a hard semester and general few months. It really made my year; thank you.

Ohhh we're diving into the good parts here. Yessssss. To start, yeah, Shanks' face has been cemented into the public collective, and he's peaking. Already wildly powerful, but still a ways off from emperor status. At this point in the timeline he's gone into a period of 'calm', he's overcome the initial hurdles he faced after Loguetown, and is now taking a more protracted approach to climbing the ladder, i.e, stuff like the Gomu fruit. There's only so much that brute force and violence can bring at any given time, and he's instilled enough awe, sympathy, and fear in people that he can afford to dip down a bit. All that is to say that, yes, AU Shanks does in fact lay low at Dawn island for a year like in canon. Which brings us to the actual laying low part. Luffy is at the ripe age of six now, is fully glued to Shanks, and Shanks has free time on his hands. So he decides he wants to begin training Luffy in the ways of pirating, but he also does not want anything to threaten his well-being in any way, shape, or form. The compromise is to take Luffy along with him on this clandestine mission for the Gomu Gomu. (that Dragon agreed to let Luffy go was due greatly to Luffy's incessant whining getting in the way of him writing his political treatises) They do have to go undercover, or at least proceed very cautiously and secretively. (this is the part were Shanks dyes his hair) What helps them is that the inhabitants of Dawn Island, minus the nobles, are sympathetic towards pirates and their cause against the WG, and actively work to conceal Shanks' presence on the island/his ship. And Shanks has visited the island briefly once before, when Luffy was born on it. He's known to the inhabitants. Shanks would disregard the bandits in much the same way he does in canon, and never engages with them for the sake of the mission, up until the point when they try to lay a hand on Luffy, and that in particular does grind on him, because of Luffy having to witness everything and not understanding why Shanks doesn't fight back, they way Shanks has been teaching him to. So there's some pent-up unconscious rage at play when he finally lets loose on the bandits. The bandits come after Luffy because Shanks has been found out and the bandits were sent to retrieve Luffy, and while Shanks kills the others, one still does take Luffy. But the chase after him goes on for days instead of Luffy being found at once, so technically Shanks loses his arm much later than he does in canon. Garp already knows about Luffy at this point, but he's never had any concrete leads/opportunities to make a grab at him. When he finds out Shanks is on the island with Luffy, he decides to make a move and kidnap Luffy and stow him away with Dadan, where unbeknownst to anyone else, Garp is also hiding Ace with. Which leads into a whole other mess for a later date. Mihawk is in the middle of the formation of the Warlords, but he visits Shanks regularly on the island, which makes this period one of their hardest so far, as they have to be separated. Their individual tasks distract them, though, Shanks has a handful dealing with Luffy and searching for the Gomu Gomu, and Mihawk likewise has a handful with the new Warlords, so they stay busy enough to withstand the other's absence. Right back at you! I'm so glad you like it so much! It's really making my year too, it's so much fun!

[troublemakingrebel]

Fanfic Tag Game

Ayyy, @krankittoeleven, thanks for tagging! Love these little lists!

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

34! (I used to write in two languages, but for this game i count only the English ones)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

295,814... (~1.5 times more words than "Fellowship of the Ring" by JRR Tolkien *sweating*)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Totally obsessed with Assassin's Creed (Valhalla in particular), but also have some WIPs for Cyberpunk 2077.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Right Behind You (Witcher 3), a piece about epic friendship & love between Geralt of Rivia and the absolute husband material Emiel Regis

10 years apart, no more (AC Valhalla), a fix-it for the fLicKEriNg flame nonsense (if you know you know...)

Shall We? (AC Syndicate), another fix-it that makes Maxwell Roth survive the fire as there's no fire at all

The Truth (The Wolf Among Us), about shaky relationship between the Big Bad Wolf and the Woodsman (i'm so surprised it made it to the top-5!!)

In the Belly of the Beast (AC Valhalla), about Ivarr Ragnarsson eating the forbidden Saxon fruit while no one is watching hehe

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course! Can't leave them hanging there in silence!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Usually, I don't do sad endings, but the most bitter-sweet one is Pebble (Dragon Age: Inquisition) about a kossith who cuts his massive horns off to look more like a human so he could follow his lover to the city where kossith race isn't welcome :c Although I don't think his lover would let him go there anyway......

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Haha every other one :D But Sun, Rum and Gunpowder (AC Black Flag) has the happiest and the most carefree vibes whatsoever!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on the fics, but the ships! I just delete those because why is it an author's problem suddenly that some people don't know how filters work??

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh, I sure do ;> It's not extremely explicit (no holes in sight, but dicks and balls can be spotted) and is mostly focused on emotions and dialogues.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope, but I write AUs sometimes to spice things up! Modern days AUs are the bane of my existence, and still... somehow... I keep making them...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, but I noticed my lines and phrases in the stories of fellow writers. I appreciate it!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah!! Out of all possible fics, it was The Remnants of a Ruined Past, a Mad Max (the game!) story translated into Polish. Love it lots!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Never as i am incapable to work in groups haha. I did some challenges though, such as picking a theme and writing something small with a fren to compare the results later. It's very fun and helps to keep your brain gears spinning!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Like, the one and only ship that I could bring along if I was stuck on a desert island? Or the one I don't even write for anymore but carry in my heart daily? The former would be Hawke x Varric (Dragon Age 2) because they're a comfort ship with many possibilities for plots. The latter is Ezio x Leonardo (AC II + Brotherhood + Revelations) and Arthur x Eames (Inception) because they started it all hehe.

15. What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

It's a compilation of drabbles written for a very niche CGI Resident Evil movie (Damnation) & very rare pair that i was planning to continue for as long as the planet keeps spinning, but got overwhelmed with the amount of ideas I had in mind :c

16. What are your writing strengths?

Humor and dialogues!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything el– 🥲 Deep character studies, believable politics and fights.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

A big yes from me, it ads depth and character when used correctly. Also, it's very interesting to keep an evening reading about the language you're planning to use, even it's for a few simple words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It was an attempt to mimic Marie Corelli and write a ficlet for her novel "The Sorrows of Satan". And then Assassin's Creed took my soul and I've never seen it since! Kinda ironic, huh...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm gonna cheat bc I'm quite proud about Beautiful Decline, a series of four fics written for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's an enormous project that was never meant to break out from its confinements and produce three more stories lmao.

Tagging @firefly-partyn and @krankittoeleven if you wanna join!

[diagonal-queen]

If the BSD girls were my coworkers

♡ characters: Kyouka Izumi, Yosano Akiko, Kouyou Ozaki, Gin Akutagawa, Higuchi Ichiyou, Naomi Tanizaki, Lucy Maud Montgomery

♡ synopsis: How would these girls be if they were my coworkers?

♡ cw: Swearing, knives, mentions of sexual harassment

note: Well this took forever to write, my bad lol. Uh I'm working full time rn so my posting schedule is a little silly and goofy ahaha anyways um. Apologies for errors and I hope you enjoy x

If the BSD boys were my coworkers

Kyouka:

She would try her DAMNED HARDEST OKAY

Scarily good at cutting (legally she's not allowed to be cutting stuff because she's too young, but she's good at it so I wouldn't snitch). Like she'll slice up a whole box of lettuce in like two seconds. We would NEVER run out of cuts with Kyouka on board

Also very good at cleaning, would clear out the entire store and kitchen in a manner of minutes

However she's bad with customers. Like REALLY bad. She would either just tell them the entirely wrong thing, falter and run away, stare silently in confusion, or just refer them to me lol

Always appreciative whenever people bring snacks to work and let her have some

Her favourite job is cutting and wrapping stuff because it's what she's best at and it makes her feel more confident in her ability

Constantly amazed by the pricing machine that just spits out price tags (me too queen) and is always so delighted no matter how long she'd been working there

I appreciate her doing her best and I don't care how many times she makes a mistake she will learn and continue as best as she can and that's REALLY what counts

Yosano:

Oh boy.

I'll start by saying that a very large percentage of my patrons are middle-aged to elderly men. Some of them are very polite and nice, sure, but there are...others.

These 'others' would not last half a second under the icy glare of Akiko Yosano. A single suspicious glance/comment at me or any other female staff would have her committing suable actions

She'd also be good at cutting stuff, but probably get a little too zealous when she gets to cut pumpkins (aka use a mallet and a giant knife at the same time)

Absolutely would answer the phone with no hesitations and be able to take orders and stuff properly without any training which is nice

BUT if someone called us asking for empty cardboard boxes or something stupid like that (which has actually happened) she would argue with them and then just hang up T-T

She should honestly be in a management position because she would be so good at that

Yosano has her ups and downs in vegetal retail. But regardless of all that, she would be like. The COOLEST coworker ever on god

Kouyou:

At first I'm not sure if she'd like a job like retail

She'd be like 'I'm really being paid minimum wage to cover my hands in rotten fruits and get verbally abused by pensioners?' (she's so right btw)

But she'd eventually get into the groove of things (probably just because she has nothing else do to) and would actually become quite good at it

She'd be good at organising, cleaning and sorting stuff out to make it look presentable

A respectful AND respectable queen who values neatness and maintains a good rapport with customers...except if they give the rest of her coworkers any shit. Then she's not maintaining as good of a rapport with customers

She's the kind of girl who would ABSOLUTELY talk shit about customers (and other coworkers ngl) in the back lmao

She would always wear gloves because she doesn't wanna get her hands dirty (I hc that Kouyou has perfectly manicured hands and does what she can to maintain them)

Would get frustrated easily though so we'd just have to try not to upset her as much as possible sksjkjfks

Gin:

I have this coworker who's not very talkative and can be a little awkward to talk to some times, but he's a literal godsend and does everything extremely quickly and to such a perfect degree that without him I am complete mess

THAT is Gin as my coworker

Also my coworker is like super nice as well and Gin would be really nice too lol

She would come off as frightening at first though. I get the feeling that a lot of customers wouldn't want to approach her lol

Might be lacking in confidence at first when she starts but she gets the hang of it quickly enough

Probably doesn't tie her hair up properly and is constantly asked about it by the manager

You would never have to ask her to do anything, she'd just be on top of it all and have everything ready

Would never answer the phone even if she were the only one there. She would probably freeze up and panic until someone else came and answered it for her (she really doesn't strike me as a phone person, because same)

Higuchi:

She is also doing her damned best and y'know what? Even if she continuously fucked up, I would forgive her

Even though I know Higuchi is actually very strong and accomplished she's still my favourite girlfailure and I love her

She's pretty good with customers but she would probably falter if one of them started getting mad at her or something (I would defend her guys)

A little bit clumsy, she might drop some things or her cuts might be a little janky, but like honestly the customers can DEAL with it. I feel like they wouldn't probably mind anyway because Higuchi is a pretty likeable person

Always sharing her snacks with her coworkers

Probably late to work a lot of the time but only by a couple minutes, and always makes up for it by staying behind after her shift ends (I wouldn't be surprised if the store actually ended up owing her some hours lol)

Really strong, so people are always getting her to help them lift/carry stuff

Leaves little encouraging/nice notes around for her coworkers because she's a sweetie <3

Naomi:

Naomi haters are gonna get so mad when I say that she'd be a brilliant coworker

We've seen how good at her agency job she is, why would retail be any different?

The best customer sweet-talker ever, would get herself and me out of any and all trouble and the manager would never ever know

Knows how to work all the machines and has memorised each of the numerical codes for each food like a walking dictionary (there's like five hundred of them fr)

Jun'ichiro sometimes visits the store to go shopping and that's the only real issue that Naomi has at work. She will drop everything to spend every second she can with her brother and it's honestly pretty annoying

If she gets overwhelmed she would forget how to do literally anything correctly and might have a bit of a panic moment

Dudes are probably trying to hit on her all the time and she might actually throw food at them I'm not kidding (and I would fully side with her)

She would also be so nice to her fellow coworkers and always encourage them :')

Lucy:

Lucy would consider this kind of work to be spectacularly easy compared to what she had going on in her orphanage and the Guild

Truly a testament to how absolutely shitty her life has been so far (sorry queen I could treat you better <3)

She's pretty good at everything, not perfect but generally quite good. An all-rounder, always getting called in on unscheduled days because she's just the go-to for everything lmao

Not that she would come in on those days, but yk

She would bring snacks for her coworkers but she would never admit it. She'd be like "You can have some if you want I don't care" while having entirely bought them for them lol

If a customer tries to strike up an argument with her or ask for something unreasonable, or try to guilt her into doing things for them (which is surprisingly common actually), they would FAIL

Would store extra stock in Anne's room (and would probably just keep rubbish from throughout the day in there to keep the kitchen clean, until the end of her shift when she can throw it out lol)

Alongside Gin she's EASILY the most valuable and helpful coworker (and also the cutest prettiest one <3)

taglist~ ♡ @gettinshiggywithit, @fyodorhatr, @flower-of-darkness, @bejeweledgirl

[mooodyblue]

Just watched the egg roulette with Austin and it gave me the greatest idea of what if AUSTINS in headspace this time and when he’s playing and everything he’s just a growly nose scrunchy lil guy 🥺🥺🥺 I’m just thinking of all the ideas and I have more faith in you to pull them off than me ❤️

okay so!! i was trying to think of how to write a lil smth smth for little!austin (which if it's not your cup of tea, scroll past and dont read!) and could not for the life of me think of anything so i hope some little headcannons are okay! 🫶🏼 i've thought about little!austin but wasn't sure how people would take it since with elvis it's different, if it's something people are interested in, i'll be happy to write more :) i have lots of thoughts abt little!austin hehe

little!austin headcannons 💗

(once again, if you don't like, then scroll past! this is how i cope okay!!!!!!!)

warnings: sfw agere, little space, written at 3am

it's safe to say, you were definitely surprised when you came home one day to austin curled up on the couch, plushie in his arms, thumb in between his lips as a cartoon played in the background while he was asleep

you'd never seen austin so embarrassed when he saw you standing there, his face a deep shade of red.

of course, you assured him that it was okay and that you loved him no matter what. he was overjoyed when you asked about taking care of him, happily bouncing up and down and showing you the plushies he kept in the closet away from you, introducing them one by one. he was just so excited to finally have someone take care of him.

he's such a polite boy, always so full of joy and getting excited over the smallest things. says "thank you, momma!" every.single.time. he never forgets.

he does have a bad habit of sticking his fingers in his mouth though, sometimes he doesn't realize he's doing it, sometimes he does and just wants you to notice so you'll go upstairs and get him his paci.

although he always slips when he gets overwhelmed with his work or when he comes home after a stressful day of press, he sometimes slips when you just let him lay in your lap as you play with his hair. or when he sees a plushie he absolutely needs. or when you playfully call him a good boy over and over again. he's good at fighting it though, as he's been doing it for a long time in an attempt to hide it from you. although, now that he can freely do it in front of you, it's been getting harder for him to fight it sometimes.

he loves, loves, loves playing. whether it be a board game with you, him playfully smashing buttons on a baby guitar or keyboard, or even with his little play kitchen. he's always smiling and enjoying himself. when you two play games to together, he scrunches his nose when hes deep in thought or too focused in his decision. he sometimes scrunches his nose at you when he thinks he made a good move, which he doesn't most of the time but you always let him win anyway

whenever he's coloring something really tricky, he has his tongue poking out when he's focused. sometimes he scrunches his nose when he messes up, but that's okay! it just makes his picture more unique!

although he loves to cook for you and occasionally bake, he loves to help you in the kitchen when he's little. especially when you're baking. "momma, can i lick the spoon, please?" he asks you, giving you little puppy dog eyes with his those pretty, blue eyes you love so much. obviously you let him, who can resist that face?

he's a squishmallow enjoyer!!! idc!!

although he definitely has every single elvis build a bear just because...duh.

the deeper he is into his headspace, the more quiet and shy he gets. but when he's comfortable, he's very chatty.

definitely a little clumsy. after spilling 5 cups of apple juice over a short period of time, you finally broke down and bought him a few sippy cups. now, he refuses to walk around the house without it filled. he loves juice and refuses to drink anything else.

this boy loves his fruit snacks.

he loves those baby sensory videos where it has the little fun music with the fruits dancing in the background. you don't mind him watching cartoons, but sometimes you need something to keep him focused while you clean up around the house.

he loves laying outside with you just looking at the stars and the moon at night, you even put little glow in the dark star stickers up on the ceiling in your bedroom just for him.

because he's a good boy, he never argues when it's naptime or time for bed. at least most of the time.

he's a very sleepy boy :)

loves his little silky pajamas, he always wants to be warm and comfy before getting into bed

sometimes he'll ask for a bedtime story, sometimes he just wants to be snuggled up to you while you play with his hair

he loves looking up and counting the little stars you put on the ceiling to help him fall asleep faster

he doesn't always need his paci before bed, but after a long day he definitely needs it, he still can't kick that habit of his.

he truly is the best boy you could ever ask for and could not imagine being with anyone else 💓🧸

[blonde-and-cat-suc]

I really wanna start an anti catradora blog since there are so few but idk where to start, can you please give me some tips?

Well! First of, I'm very excited that this side of fandom will be getting another participant, and second of all, I'm very flattered that this question is going to me! I'm always happy to give some support xoxo!

All of my tips are going to be from personal experience both from my time generally engaging with fandom, and running this particular blog.

/ / / /

1 ) Try to be polite.

Yes, you will get people who disagree with you. The very existence of anti-fandom implies that we are not the norm. The majority of our main fandom already disagrees with us. And they might be assholes about it. Don't tolerate rudeness, but also, try not to feed into it, either. Not only is it terrible for mental health as the blogger, but it perpetuates this idea that the blogger in question reacts to negative attention. Which, if you've been on the Internet long enough, you know very well how quickly negativity breeds if it's allowed. Positivity breeds too, so I think it's in anyone's best interest to simply... Not be an asshole. Even if it means being the bigger person for a moment.

2 ) Pick and choose your battles.

"Battles" is a melodramatic way to put it, but I'm only using it because it's a well known saying. Anyway, this part is from the first part. So... the thing about being "the bigger person" is that... it doesn't always happen. I definitely don't let everything go by me without snapping at it sometimes. Well, I just think it's funny. I used to think it was way funnier in the past, too. Sometimes anon hate/fandom takes are really stupid and it's hilarious to share. But if it's not funny, insightful, or you simply don't want to engage... Don't engage.

3 ) Connect!

Anti-fandom is still fandom, and I personally treat it as such! There's still art to enjoy, stories to read, discussions to be shared. Community is not necessary, but when I was first putting out anti-c//a posts it really helped me to know that there were people that like, didn't think I was insane for pointing out things that bothered me! Especially since my choice in writing anti-c//a/crit fics is not an easy medium and well, to be honest, sort of requires that I know someone out there enjoys the fruit of my labor.

Yes, spop antis are limited, but go say 'hi' to the people that are open to engagement! We're mostly pretty friendly, and in my opinion, open-minded.

4 ) You are required to have an "on the nose" blog name.

NO, okay, I'm being totally facetious! Obviously, name the blog whatever you want, I just laugh when I see a new anti blog and it's something like "catra-needs-jail-time" or "catradora-is-dogshit". They're a handful of bloggers like that, if you want more to follow (the two I just named are jokes... As far as I know).

The real advice to be clear that your blog is anti-catradora/critical; or whatever other stances you'll talk about often. Nothing personal if that's not what you want, but make it easily found that you're not open to certain things, or you are open to certain things. I.e. I think that C//a are pretty obviously adopted sisters canon, and that point is very purposefully the first post on my blog (has been for two years), so no one is surprised when I start ranting about sister!c//a in particular.

5 ) It is never, EVER that deep.

Part of anti/crit blogging is that there's salt involved. Ranting, sharing things that frustrate us, being annoyed with canon... But also, it's really not that deep.

If I would have got this question two years before, I would have not added this part. But yeah, no. Part of why I run this blog still is because I know it's simply not that serious... People will steadily find my blog and the others in this community, and they will come around to their own conclusions on their own time. There is no trying to convince someone else on a POV that they simply don't want to see. There is no war against anti fandom and main fandom (though, some will have you believe otherwise).

The bloggers that are still active and open about unpopular opinions in 2023 are not people that stress themselves out or respond to every braindead take, they're not people who get attacked/overwhelmed by stans very often, they're not rude, they're not close-minded-- actually, I would go as far as to say that they're extremely fucking chill about this hobby. Passionate and dedicated, but self aware and self-respecting of mental capital/health.

And so, that'd have to be my last piece of advice.. Chill. It's just not that deep. And if it ever becomes "deep"... take a million steps back, and give yourself that space to recuperate. Your mental state is infinitely more important than an anti-blog, and no one will judge you for taking breaks or anything as you'll need them.

/ / / /

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

loving how Cera in the land before time show is many things but innately wanting to be "the hero" isn't one of them XD

not because she doesn't have the ego for it- defensively hyperconfident and loud about pointing out things she thinks are stupid- she just legit is so tired. she Just wants to sit in the mud pools and chill.

I'm glad they remembered that from the movies. because it's true there too- comes to Little Foot's rescue? eye roll and annoyed "Don't we always?"- saves Petri from a falling rock by tackling him out of the way at the last moment "Cera! You saved me!" "Yeah? So? No big deal-" *gets hugged* "-awww"

like she'll take the positive attention you give her and preen about it, but her first reflex is to NOT have to deal with stuff PLEASE can we not deal with stuff for FIVE MINUTES-

Littlefoot's always the one like "lets go on a dangerous adventure!"

and Cera goes along with it bc she's convinced her friends would all get eaten or squished immediately if she wasn't there to be brutally honest and snarky about everything

(petri fills in when she's not around sometimes)

(when he's not terrified anyway)

it's really gooooooood dynamic. she's not actually TRYING to compete with Littlefoot as leader on adventures or hero of the great valley- they got over that in the first movie- now she's just here to keep her long necked friend's idealist and chronically curious head from completely floating away in the clouds

anyway. laughed out loud when Petri was like "OH WOW CERA NOT ONLY ISN'T DEAD SHE CHASED AWAY THE DANGER! IMMA TELL EVERYONE SHE A HERO!"

Cera's just >:/ going "no wait guys it was an accident- aaand he's gone. UGH. oh whatever..."

and then the rest of the episode happens (HEH)

love love love how the grown ups the great valley- who did NOT have to figure out how to survive on their own as KIDS via problem solving and group dynamic politics without ANY strength or size help to fall back on-

they are so, soooooooo bad at thinking outside the box. ANY of the stuff the main kids do is just mind blowing to them. unblock the stuck water? fight sharp teeth by throwing fruits they can't stand at them? scare away the belly draggers by making some rocks fall down? genius brilliant amazing talented- "HAAAAIL!! THE AMAZING THREE HORN GIRL-!!"

guys what in the actual heck. a parade. with tree star confetti? my dudes, how bored ARE you all?

just let her rest XD let her go nap in the mud pools oh my gods

[alwritey-aphrodite]

Flowers

Chapter 9 of You Are In Love

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Pairing: modern!Poe Dameron x reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: none

Author’s Note: big fan of farmer’s markets

Everything seems to settle when Rey and Rose return from their week away. You restart your weekly group hang outs, and try to avoid as much one-on-one time with Poe as possible, even though you want the exact opposite. Still, after your pseudo-confession in his car, you’re in no rush to spend time alone with him and embarrass yourself even more.

It’s what’s best, you tell yourself, you’re keeping yourself from getting hurt and Poe from having to reject you. Really, he should be thanking you, instead of staring you down across the table with those puppy-dog eyes of his.

If it weren’t for the way he looks at you when you’re all together, it doesn’t seem like anything is off. He’s still as polite and friendly and loving as ever, cracking jokes with you as if nothing has changed.

And maybe nothing has changed. Maybe you’re just overreacting, being delusional when there’s nothing wrong with anyone else. Maybe Poe’s forgotten the conversation you’ve had, because you’re sure he didn’t think about it as much as you did after.

But he’s silently wishing that you understand the meaning behind all of his longing looks, so he doesn’t need to put himself out in the open, in fear that you really don’t feel the same, and he’s just been reading everything wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time he let his own hopes cloud his thoughts.

As the leaves change and the weather cools, the five of you have been trying to spend as much time outside as possible, knowing the bitter cold that awaits you in winter. Now, though, it’s still sunny and comfortable with a light jacket, so you often end up at little outdoor events, like concerts or autumn farmers markets.

There’s a little fall farmers market that you go to every weekend; there’s always fresh fruit, honey, and a few stands for crafts and other artwork. Last year, you’d tried a few times to get a stand to display some of your work, but you’d always ask too late and there were never any available spots.

This year, though, there’s one weekend where you found an open table, so now you’re scrambling to finish up some smaller paintings and watercolors, and look through your older work to see if there’s anything you’d be able to sell.

It really wasn’t about making sales, your main goal was to draw some attention to your work. You figured if there were people interested, you might find some more inspiration and energy to try and find a local gallery to display some of your work.

So, of course, you made your friends agree to help you set up and run your little table at the market, and to help you pass the hours quicker. While you were hopeful, you weren’t overly optimistic about getting a lot of attention or sales.

But, you knew that with your friends there, you’d have a good time anyway, it was practically impossible not to be happy around them. You tried your hardest not to think about what you were actually there to do, and instead tell yourself it’s just another Saturday morning spent with your friends.

The Friday before, you’re a nervous wreck, tearing apart your studio to try and find enough pieces that you like but would also be able to part with, if it came to that. You’re mid freak out when you get a text from Rose, pausing in your frantic searching to check your phone.

Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, I know it’ll be great!!!

It seems like that message is enough to get you to come to your senses and calm down. You have enough pieces, and they’ve been picked out weeks ago, since you’ve known you’d gotten a table at the market. And, if someone can’t find something they love, you have enough spare time to take some commissions.

Everything is under control.

You feel much more relaxed after that message, and spend the night doing some much needed pampering and self-care. You even pick out your outfit for tomorrow, something that makes you feel both confident and professional, ready to take on whatever life throws at you.

You crawl into bed at a decent time, and somehow manage to fall asleep without the help of melatonin. Though, your alarm still feels like it goes off as soon as you close your eyes.

The morning is early, guaranteeing that you have enough time to get properly ready without feeling rushed at all, but not so much time that you have any opportunities to sit around and feel anxious.

Poe had offered to pick you up, and you’ve just finished getting ready when you get his text that tells you he arrived. So, you put on your shoes, gather your supplies, and head down to his car after taking a few deep breaths to keep yourself relaxed.

The air is chilly when you step outside, but you're hopeful that once the sun peeks through the clouds, it’ll warm up. As soon as he sees you, Finn is sprinting out of the car to help you with all of your supplies.

“You could have texted, I would have gone up to help.” He half-grumbles, taking some of the canvases from your hands.

“I thought I could handle it,” you puff, rearranging your grip more comfortably now that Finn had taken some of the weight.

You load up into Poe’s car, making sure your paintings are extra secure before allowing Poe to drive off. Once you’ve gotten yourself situated and buckled, Finn hands you a to-go cup of coffee, and you can tell by the design that it’s from Maz’s.

“Ooh, who was working today?” You ask after thanking him and taking a large sip of the warm drink.

“I didn’t recognize them,” Poe responds, so you assume it was one of the new hires. And, from your first few sips, they did a pretty good job.

Poe manages to find a pretty decent parking spot, mainly because the market isn’t open yet. He and Finn carry all of your paintings and other supplies while you lead the way to your little table settled underneath some red and orange trees.

You’ve got a decent spot, almost perfectly in the middle of the left hand side of stalls, and the trees will give you some shade, if the sun ever fully comes out.

Rose and Rey arrive as you’re setting up, switching around the way you’re displaying your pieces over and over, never quite satisfied.

“This looks good,” Finn assures you, gently gripping your forearms and pulling you out of arm’s reach of the table. Poe nods in agreement.

“Best one yet.”

“Really?” You say, escaping Finn’s hold and taking a few steps back, turning your head this way and that, trying to decide if you truly like the setup you’ve created.

“I think it looks perfect,” Rose says, pulling you into a side hug in greeting.

“You’ve done a great job,” Rey reaffirms as she gives you her own hug, everyone nodding and muttering in agreement.

“Ok, ok, I’ll leave it like this.” You step back towards your table, where Finn and Poe have set up folding chairs for the five of you. You sit down, clutching your coffee, knee bouncing erratically. You had so much pent up energy and anxiety, you felt like you could sprint a mile.

But your friends did a great job of distracting you from your nerves, keeping your mind calm and mostly off the topic of the day ahead. It worked wonders for you, and you practically felt lighter, much more ready to take on whatever the universe threw at you.

At first, it seemed like the universe had nothing to throw. The market was officially open to the public, but it was still early so there were barely any people. Two or three passed by your little table, pausing for just a second to take in your work, before moving on towards the fruit stands.

And, it stung a little. You had put in so much work, so much stress and anxiety, having people pass you by like that felt like a slap in the face. You were confident enough in your work, but you still enjoyed the validation you got from compliments, and on rare occasions, sales.

So having people walk by with barely a glance was definitely a blow at your self esteem. Luckily, you had your friends there, who helped you keep your mind off of the people walking past.

But, things turned around pretty quickly.

As it warmed up slightly and time went on, the market got busier and busier. Before, people would only glance at your table and your work before moving on, but now you had people actually coming up to the table to get a closer look and to talk with you.

You loved how so many different types of people came to further inspect your art: elderly women with colorful scarves, millennial men in beanies and flannels, parents pulled forward by their young daughter. It made you positively glow inside knowing that all those people saw something they loved in your work.

As noon approached, you sold off a watercolor of the view from your window to a young woman, a canvas painting of your childhood playground to a family with a baby, and a more abstract canvas to one of the cool old ladies. You’d even managed to get a commission, a gift from a father for his daughter’s first apartment.

Seeing all of these people appreciating your art, and finding things they loved and that reminded them of themselves was the creative boost you needed. You were finally out of the creative rut you’d been in since returning from that lake trip, you could practically feel it coursing through your veins.

Of course, your friends were excellent salesmen. Poe and Rey in particular knew how to draw a crowd, and were able to chat up the potential customers if you were busy helping someone else. Having them with you really made all the difference.

They were there to remind you to keep breathing when you started getting overwhelmed, and they were there to grin and jump and celebrate with you when someone purchased one of your pieces. They were there to celebrate in all of your triumphs and defeats, and you truly don’t think you would have made it through the day without them.

The hours seem to fly by, and soon it’s noon and all the visitors to the market are leaving while the vendors pack up their stalls. You don’t have much to take, just your box of extra supplies and your leftover paintings. In a way, you were glad they weren’t all sold, because you weren’t so sure you’d be able to part with all of them just yet.

You all make plans to celebrate the day’s successes that evening, giving you all time to rest and recharge before you head out again. You wave a goodbye to Rey and Rose, and then the boys help you haul your things back to Poe’s car.

The drive back is full of animated conversations and lots of laughter. Mostly, you stick to observing, absolutely drained from the morning you’ve had. Still, it seems impossible to wipe the smile from your face, your cheeks are almost hurting.

You haven’t felt this confident, this carefree in such a long time you’d almost forgotten what it felt like. You felt on top of the world, so high up that absolutely nothing could bring you down, not even that lingering bit of something between you and Poe.

When you return to your apartment, after turning down Finn and Poe’s offer to help you with the rest of your things, you throw yourself onto your bed, delighting in the way you sink into the mattress. You fall asleep without even taking off your clothes.

When you wake up, it’s only a few hours later, leaving you plenty of time to get re-ready to see your friends. You’re grateful that everyone agreed to take a break before you continued on with your day, the nap you took was definitely needed.

Your mind feels clearer than it has in a long time, as if someone had removed a dirty pane of glass from in front of it. You feel recharged and ready to take on whatever life throws at you. You get yourself dressed again, in clothes that you didn’t nap in, before you make your way over to Rey and Rose’s apartment.

The evening is spent in their shared backyard area, huddled around the firepit. The air gets even chillier when it gets dark, so you all have blankets wrapped around your shoulders to fight it off, along with some warm drinks.

It’s the perfect way to spend an evening after a perfect day, warm and happy and surrounded by all your friends. You’re completely on cloud nine, and nothing could ever bring you down, not when you’re this high off the ground. You feel unstoppable, in a way that you never have before.

You’re fully present with your friends, there’s not a single corner of your mind that’s off focusing on something worrisome or unnecessary, you’re completely in the moment, warmed just as much by your friend’s joy as you are by the fire.

Still, the excitement of the day starts to catch up with you again, so you all decide to call it an early evening. As always, Poe drives you home. You hate the way you crave these moments with him, just the two of you in a silent car, all alone in the dark night. Something about it feels like home, like you’re safely wrapped up in the silence and the glow from the console.

You say your goodbyes, sans love confessions, and make your way up to your apartment, feeling like you’re floating on air. You’ve just finished showering and throwing on the coziest pair of pajamas you own when there’s a knock at the front door.

It’s late, so you’re immediately on edge. The feeling only amplifies when a glance through the peephole tells you that there’s no one on the other side. Still, you edge the door open, seeing something resting on your doormat through the crack.

You slowly open the door wider, revealing the gift in its entirety: a vase full of colorful flowers. You gently pick up the gift, and notice the note attached. Re-entering your apartment, you set the vase on the table and open the note, your heart beat ticking up at the familiar handwriting.

Congrats on a very successful day

I saw these and thought of you

I hope you know how proud I am

-Poe

You find yourself blinking back tears, your heart a bird desperate to escape the cage of your ribs. You bring the vase into your room with you, setting it on your nightstand where you’ll be able to see it when you fall asleep and right when you wake up.

Tags: @disabledameron @andromeda-dear @aellynera @dailyreverie @creatively-analytical @tiquinntheghost @luckynachos @fallinallinmendes @sabxism @ghostsongwriter-22 @poopirate @stevenngrant

[clarepreed]

Micro-Story: Liquid Courage

Story Summary and Content: - 2,349 words. A younger Clare drinks her feelings. No resus. Alcohol poisoning, vomit.

--

Based on first and secondhand accounts. Names and some details changed to avoid identification.

“You can be DD this time,” Clare said, trying to sound assertive. She suspected it was problematic to need alcohol to get through a party, but he wanted to go and if she didn’t go with him that was the last that they’d see each other for a week. But getting through an entire evening of socializing with people she barely knew was a lot. “I was DD the past few times.”

Leo shrugged. “If you say so.” He was letting his beard grow out again, scraggly and unkempt, and she was having a hard time not focusing on a particularly dry piece jutting out to the side.

Clare hoisted her bag in front of them. “I went to the liquor store and got a big bottle of vodka.”

“Okay…”

“Well, when I get beer it’s just for me and one other person. This would be for a lot of people. I also got a big jug of fruit punch.”

Leo didn’t respond; he was looking at his phone.

“What time do we need to leave?” Clare sat down on the bed next to him. “I probably should have gotten Coke and vanilla vodka. Or vodka and Vanilla Coke. I used to like that. But this was cheap.”

“We can go now,” Leo said. “Marlowe and Amy said any time after seven.”

“I also brought the s’mores supplies they asked for.”

“I can give you some money for those.” Leo stood, shoving his phone in his back pocket. He turned and looked at Clare, seeming to see her for the first time. “You look good, babe.”

“Oh,” she said, suddenly shy. She stood, resisting the urge to tug on the slim fit dress she was wearing. She’d put on a few pounds recently and was uncertain about her curves. “Thanks!”

“Ready?” Leo leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, his facial hair prickling the inside of her nose.

“Let’s go!” She waited until he’d turned to rub her nose with the back of her hand. Then she picked up her bags and followed him outside. Leo didn’t talk much on the way to Marlowe and Amy’s house, and Clare went back and forth between silence and talking too much. Finally, she asked: “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.”

Clare swallowed hard and tried again. “It’s just that… Things haven’t seemed okay lately, and now you’re being very—”

“Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong.” And then they were at Marlowe and Amy’s house and the conversation was over.

They made s’mores first, and then Leo disappeared with the smokers. In the kitchen, Clare filled a Solo cup with a heavy-handed serving of vodka and punch and talked politics with Leo’s older friends. She refilled the cup once or twice before deciding to look for Leo.

Clare found him reclining on the porch in a patio chair, smoking a cigarette and talking with the other smokers. She smelled a combination of tobacco and weed, which made her eyes burn. He looked over, but didn’t greet her. 

“Hey,” she said. The air inside and outside the house was humid, but at least out here, once she stepped away from the smokers, anyway, it smelled fresh.

“Hey.” His voice was flat. She had a flashback to the previous year, when they’d been at the same house and she had actually had to tell him to go hang out with his friends. She could hold her own and he should go have fun. Leo had been very physically affectionate then, unconcerned with PDA.

“Are you having a good time?” Clare asked, bringing up her phone to take his picture. He grimaced at her, cigarette between his teeth.

She went to take another photo and he swatted at her, not coming close enough to touch her. “Stop!” 

Clare didn’t appreciate his tone, but she knew she should drop it. Before she could lower the phone, he snapped again.

“Stop it!” He looked angry, and the last vestiges of Clare’s smile slipped.

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

Leo turned in his chair, cutting her off with the line of his body. Clare looked for an empty chair and couldn’t find one.

“I’ll be inside,” she said, not waiting to see if he responded.

She topped off her drink, watching the vodka glug glug glug into her plastic cup, then found the unofficial “wives and girlfriends” room. They were also out of chairs, but she sat on the floor, taking the opportunity to stretch her legs. Before long, the women were peppering her with questions about her relationship.

“Oh, uh… no, we’re closed. But not because I have a problem with open relationships.” The alcohol finally hit her, spreading warmth from her bra line up to her crown. “And you’ve all slept with each other?”

“Not ALL of us,” Samantha said, laughing. “Jesus. That would be an orgy.”

“I mean…” Amy gave Samantha a significant look and they both laughed.

The conversation shifted, time passing. Later, she wouldn’t remember most of what they’d discussed.

Leo appeared in the doorway, evidently looking for her. He walked through the room, pausing by Clare where she sat on the hardwood floor. “Having fun?” He seemed to be happier now, leaning over to kiss her.

“Yeah, we’re having a nice time in here.”

“Good,” he said, headed for the kitchen. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to leave.”

An indeterminate amount of time crawled by. Clare helped herself to more cups of vodka and punch. Eventually, she felt cheery and supercharged and clumsy, the room around her hot and blurry. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, but that didn’t help.

Should have worn my glasses.

“Hey, babe,” Leo said, seeming to appear out of nowhere. “Wanna go home?”

He reached down, offering her his hand. Clare accepted it, laughing as he pulled her to her feet and the room canted around her. Then, seemingly in a blink of an eye, they were on the porch.

“Where’s your Jeep?” she mumbled. She had a vague impression of walking through the yard and past a line of cars. Leo muttered something about being blocked in.

Her hands were numb as she fought with the door and climbed in. Leo wasn’t there; she wasn’t sure where he’d gone exactly, but she had the idea that he’d forgotten something. Clare couldn’t seem to get enough air, her breath coming short and fast. She leaned back against the seat, dragging in a deeper breath by force. 

Nausea hit her out of nowhere. Clare gagged, clapped a hand to her mouth. Then she leaned out of the Jeep.

Uh oh…

Her sight went dark, followed by a brief sensation of falling. She landed in a heap and vomited; her face pressed into the grass.

Nothing at first. Then someone lifted her partway off the ground. She vomited again.

“How much … she drink?” a man asked.

“Don’t … kept going back … Poured herself…” The words were fading in and out. She was aware of being carried inside.

They laid her out something soft, and she tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t.

“Guess … going anywhere?”

“… vomit … load up.”

“Got that trash can? She’s—”

Clare hurled again, helpless to stop it and unable to move. Her body jerked and shuddered. A pair of hands gripped her shoulders, twisting her to the side, and another held her head in place.

“…put her hair up.” A third pair of hands raked through her hair.

Her eyes peeled open as they laid her flat. Everything was blurry. Her heart raced, and breathing was still difficult.

“Can’t… breathe…” she gasped.

“Sure, you can.” That was Leo. “What do we do?”

“You can stay the night. We don’t mind.” A man’s voice, not Leo’s. “Or she can spend the night and I’ll drive her home tomorrow.”

Don’t leave me here!

The rate of her breathing picked up. Anxiety ran through her, narrowing her airway, filling her sinuses, paralyzing her lungs. She clutched at her chest and gave the room a wild rake of her eyes.

Then she blacked out again.

She wasn’t sure how long she was out this time, but she woke with an awareness of someone leaning close by her face.

“Is she breathing?”

“Yeah, I can see her chest moving.”

A man scoffed. “Barely. We should call an ambulance.”

“She won’t like it,” Leo said. “She’ll be mad.”

“I have some water for her,” Amy said. “Clare?”

“Hun, I’m not sure she can drink—”

She didn’t even feel nauseated anymore, she just vomited, her breath gurgling in and out, and the hands heaved her up and over again. They wiped her face with something cool and wet.

“Shit…”

Clare opened her eyes. She caught a glimpse of Amy’s face, wide-eyed and ashen.

“Oh! Clare?”

This is a couch. I’m on a couch.

Leo stood near her feet, his face impossible to read. She certainly didn’t see any warmth.

“Clare?” Amy again.

“I got everything hidden,” a man said. “You can call 9-1-1 now if you want.”

“Leo, does she take any medication?”

I am going to die. I’m going to pass out and suffocate and die.

Clare was hyperventilating now, breathing in short, rapid gasps. The room around her canted lazily. Faces blurred and distorted, until she latched onto the most familiar face, Leo’s. He looked annoyed. “You’re… going… to break up…………with me.”

“I don’t know… something for anxiety.” Leo shrugged. “Shh, babe.”

“Did she take it tonight? That freaks me out a little.,” Amy said, sounding concerned.

“Don’t… love me… anymore.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “Feel like I’m… dying…”

“Clare, hush.”

Darkness.

Darkness.

Darkness.

“…breathing?”

Fingers brushed her nose and her lips.

“Yes!”

“Make sure her head’s tipped back.”

“Clare? Wake up, the ambulance is on its way.”

“How often is she breathing?”

Clare faded out again.

When she next roused, she felt hands touching her wrist and her neck. A painful grinding down her sternum made her suck in a deep breath and let it out with a groan. Someone called her name, but she couldn’t answer, and then she lost another segment of time.

Darkness, movement.

Clare woke with a gasp, her body contorting to escape the pain tearing up the back of her left leg. 

“Woah! Is she strapped in? She’s gonna fall off the gurney!”

“I thought she was out!” Unfamiliar voices.

“She was!”

“You want her pressure again?”

“Nah, let’s load her.”

Her right leg seized up and she choked out a scream.

“Why is she in pain?!” Amy asked.

“Dehydration. Muscle cramps. I’ll give her fluids in the ambulance. We’re going to take her to Ashbury, someone gonna follow?”

Darkness.

She opened her eyes inside of an ambulance, laying on her side on the gurney, her arm extended. 

“Keep your eyes open for me, Clare. You’re going to be fine. You need fluids.”

A paramedic seated close by leaned forward and tied a tourniquet around her arm, just above her elbow. The ambulance was rattling and shaking.

“This road…” the paramedic muttered.

She must have blacked out again, because she blinked and there was an IV in her arm and a small amount of blood on the floor. She knew this because her face was pressed against the gurney’s side rails.

“I bled… on… the floor! Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about that. Take a couple of deep and slow breaths for me. Do you think you could lay back?”

“I’ll… throw… up! Augh!” Pain spasmed through her legs and back.

“That will stop soon, I promise. Getting you rehydrated right now. Let me know if you think you’ll vomit again.” She had no idea what he looked like; her vision was still dim and blurry. “I’m giving you medication for nausea.”

“How will I… get home?” she gasped.

“There’s a Jeep Grand Cherokee following us to the hospital.”

“Feels hard… to breathe…”

“Believe it or not, saline is going to help with that, too. Do you —”

Time jumped. Clare opened her eyes and found herself sprawled on her back on a hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling tiles. She felt like shit, registered the IV in her arm and the curtain around the bed. Someone had draped her with a sheet, but her bare feet were uncovered.

“Where are my shoes?” She could breathe properly now, her anxiety a distant memory.

“Hey, babe.” Leo was sitting in a chair against the wall. He crammed his phone in his pocket and squinted at her. “Your shoes are over here. I have your phone and your purse, too. That’s where I was when you fell out. You feel okay?”

“Not great…” There was a white block clipped to her finger. She recognized it, but couldn’t remember what it was called. They’d left her in her dress but someone had unhooked her bra, and she saw leads running out of the neckline and the tops of two electrode dots peeking out. She was surprised to see that she hadn’t thrown up on her dress. 

“The nurse said once you woke up, you have to finish your IV and then we can probably go home.” Leo got up and walked over to the side of the bed. “They didn’t have to pump your stomach or anything. You threw a lot of it up. You seemed a lot better when they let me back here than you were at the house. It’s a long drive.”

“Oh… that’s good.” Clare looked up at him, feeling a heavy weight of shame and guilt on her shoulders. She also had to pee, which seemed like a good sign. “I’m sorry. This hasn’t happened before.” 

She looked away from him, up at the ceiling again. “I know you hate hospitals. Is everyone mad at me?”

“Just worried, Clare.”

“This is going to be expensive.”

“Probably.”

“Think they’ll let me go to the bathroom?”

“I’ll find out.” He moved away from the bed, giving her a sidelong look. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Clare watched Leo push his way out of the curtain, leaving her alone. 

[weebsinstash]

*sigh* one of the more in-depth one piece ideas I have is actually for a character I totally despise, which I guess is one thing thats cool now that I'm older: I can be attracted to the literary situations or scenarios or just fetish material that can arise from the concept of a character and their personality rather than finding them physically attractive outright

But anyways I really like the idea of having Reader be a high-ranking member of the Navy -- I'm talking the upper brass are whispering giving you Admiral status and maybe even a Logia fruit kind of skilled-- and having the unfortunate luck to earn whatever the closest thing to respect Akainu is capable of giving

You're skilled, your work is strong, you've earned the unwavering respect of those serving under you, already being given your own higher rank and being the captain of your own ship and crew. Fleet Admiral Sengoku considers you a rising star of the Marines, suspects thst you may even be able to use Colors of the Supreme King, Conqueror's Haki. You've actually managed to work under Sakazuki's leadership on a handful of occasions. He could say he was impressed, maybe never aloud, not past a glance, a nod of the head, and a grunt of "solid work, vice admiral"

But something is off. At some point your ship begins sailing waters that aren't in Navy jurisdiction. There's whispers of you interfering with the local matters of islands that have not paid their protection money to the World Government. You're allocating food and supplies from your own ship and the supply chains you have authority over to help a small village on the brink of complete starvation because they've been endlessly raided by pirates.

This, of course, is completely unacceptable. Sakazuki takes the time to address you personally, in private. He insists these actions are tantamount to treason and if you wish to have any future in the Navy, any future where you're still breathing at all, you'll go back to following orders. And Akainu doesn't miss how the way you look at him changes after that little talk, that innocent little chat where you're nearly screaming your lungs out at him about "how is it justice to let innocent people die just because they can't afford to pay us?!". He doesn't miss the slight changes in demeanor in the wording of your reports, doesn't miss certain status updates becoming more less frequent, less detailed, less caring put into them.

There's a rumor, just a rumor, that at some point you encountered Straw Hat Luffy himself, and yet, somehow, miraculously, you're completely unscathed, and so is the rubber man.

And then it happens. Marineford. Fire Fist Ace's public execution. Even your presence becomes PR for the event, a little pro government propoganda about how the newest Admiral is there to uphold justice, to show that "the Navy will prevail in the face of criminality" or some bullshit like that, some politically motivated mumbo jumbo you can't even put half of your heart into anymore. You have to stand there as Warlord after Warlord shows up, criminals of some of the highest order allowed to run free just because the Navy gets something back out of letting them loose, or simply lacks the coordinated manpower to take on such threats. Even Whitebeard himself is there, THE Edward Newgate, a man you've heard compared to a demon most of your life, proudly shouting to the world that his crew is his family and he won't leave anyone behind, Ace in tears, his brother risking everything to run straight to the execution platform

And then there's your fellow Admiral Sakazuki, about to punch a flaming hole through one of your own fellow Marines, one who is practically a sniveling boy as he begs for all the unneeded bloodshed and loss of life to stop, for someone to please stop this, to not have to look and watch as people die one after the other for the spectacle of crushing HOPE ITSELF

Something fundamentally changes in you after that day. You still raised your sword to fight, but it lacked the sheer overwhelming power you had become known for. Your expression is troubled the entire time, and at one point, for merely a second, Borsalino feels the need to mention he thought he saw you lock eyes with Straw Hat Luffy and looked full of pure regret

You have your resignation on Sengoku's desk within hours of returning to Marine Headquarters, but his look is completely understanding, sympathetic to your own. He can feel your unvoiced concerns about what you both saw. There's a wordless moment of agreement between you two as he begins to pull out the paperwork to give you an honorable discharge, telling you to go rest, that you've done enough.

And yet, days pass and you hear nothing, and you hear whispers thst Sengoku himself is stepping down from his position. You understand. Several more days pass. Nothing. You're getting nervous. You don't like what you're hearing about who is being picked for the newest Fleet Admiral. There's whispers that it's going to be Akainu. There's rumors that the person Sengoku chose to succeed him, Kuzan, is practically dead.

Dread fills your heart when you're summoned to the Fleet Admiral's office and the man im that chair is, indeed, Sakazuki himself, staring you down with some sort of barely-contained rage as, you can see it very clearly, your resignation letter is clenched in his hand, wrinkling under the furious clenching of his fingers.

It's burned to ashes right in front of you, your new Fleet Admiral taking another hit of his cigar, never breaking eye contact with you for a single moment, before giving a huff:

"And just where do you think you'll go? Get back to work."